The bout will take place in western France on Saturday after the 24-year-old met with Frenchman Mahyar Monshipour, an Iranian-born former super bantamweight world champion.
Mahathir Mohamad, 77, is credited with putting Malaysia in the front rank of newly industrialized countries.
'The visit by the MEPs and their photo-op with Modi would suggest that we have now given a quiet burial to the 'internal matter' charade,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Taliban's official spokesman, Abdulqahar Balkhi, claimed responsiblity for the attack on Twitter.
Sporting ponytails and sculpted beards were banned as part of a campaign to prevent the spread of Western culture in the Islamic state.
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In this series, Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
'In Rajiv Gandhi's time, out of every Re 1 spent by the government only 15 paisa reached the public.' 'At this moment, I cannot say that the entire Re 1 reaches the common man's pocket, but yes, two-thirds of that money definitely reaches the common man.' 'And the rest of the money will also reach soon.'
'SIMI has been hijacked by elements in other countries and other Muslim societies, and some of them at least have become misguided and radical in their beliefs.'
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
Two policemen and nine militants have been killed when axe-wielding assailants attacked a police station in China's Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, the latest in a series of deadly attacks amid heightened tension in the volatile western region bordering PoK.
Considered a powerful player in Maldivian politics, former President Maumoon Gayoom on Thursday sought to allay India's concerns over rise of fundamentalism in Maldives by assuring strict implementation of a law to check radicalisation of Islam once his party returns to power.
'Pakistan's trump card is that it is the only credible guarantor on the horizon who can reasonably assure the Western world that Afghanistan will not again become the revolving door for international terrorism.' 'Trust Pakistan to play this card optimally,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Wasim, UP PFI head, was arrested for masterminding the violence, police said. 33 FIRs have been filed in Lucknow and 150 people have been arrested so far.
Germany was on high alert on Friday as police hunted for up to seven people suspected of plotting a New Year's Eve suicide attack in Munich in the name of the Islamic State group.
'China is likely to help Pakistan in keeping the fire burning in J&K to bleed India for its own interests.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
ISIS suicide bombers and gunmen struck at the heart of the capital of Muslim-majority Indonesia, executing a Westerner and killing a local while blowing up a Starbucks cafe, leaving five attackers dead in the ensuing firing.
Prime Minister David Cameron has asked his spy chiefs to find Islamic State executioner 'Jihadi John' so that he could dispatch special forces to kill or capture the masked man who beheaded the latest British hostage.
In recent years, China has refrained from taking a public stance on the India-Pakistan ties, expressing hope for resolution of the disputes through dialogue.
'The BJP's all-India plans can be expected to become clearer around 2022-2023, particularly if -- as some anticipate -- the senior Congress leadership cracks, broadly as between the Nehru-Gandhi loyalists and those who may be termed 'pro-changers',' observes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
We will have to work on our own to stave off the danger. Nobody will come to our rescue, he was quoted as saying.
'Disgruntled, disillusioned, Muslim youth -- of whom there is no dearth, given the Muslim world's sorry state -- are ready to take on the might of the West and attack it in any way they can.' 'For them, it is their faith, and not the reasoning of Newton or Descartes that has stayed with them, sustained them through the misery their world had sunk into,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The Islamic State militant group has released a new video showing another British journalist who says he is being held hostage by the extremists.
Germany forward Mario Gomez is leaving Turkish champions Besiktas due to the volatile political situation in the country, he said on Wednesday.
India plans to further cut imports from Iran by 13 per cent next fiscal even though easing of US and western sanctions has made buying crude oil from the Persian Gulf nation easier.
The Looming Tower reveals the bitter CIA-FBI turf battles that led to the worst terrorist attack in America's history.
'India should be able to weather the storm, given its enhanced standing among the major powers. However, India's international clout is partly from its rapidly growing emerging economy and a large and expanding commercial market. 'If the Indian economy continues to slow and protectionist barriers advance, then our international clout will also diminish. The international fallout from bringing the Valley to heel may be more difficult to handle,' says Shyam Saran.
The suspect, a 29-year-old man identified as Saifullo Saipov, of Uzbek descent, was shot in the stomach before being arrested.
The Pakistan government has, however, put the JuD on the list of groups being closely watched by the officials.
More than 60 per cent followers of Mehdi Masroor Biswas, the Bengaluru-based executive, who was running a pro-Islamic State Twitter account, were non-Muslims and a majority of his Muslim followers were from western countries, particularly the United Kingdom, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.
The family of slain Steven Sotloff said they were relishing seeing the terrorist being punished.
Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag on Thursday slammed Pakistan for giving "candid support" to terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiyba as he called on the international community to join hands in combating the menace.
Malik said Congress leaders requested that the meeting be postponed to Wednesday.
'Banning conversion would harm Hinduism by taking away the need for reform.'
Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai on Monday said she wants to be a politician in future to ensure compulsory education in her country, an issue for which she was shot in the head by the Taliban.
The US, China and the UK remain the top three defence spenders while India has the fourth largest military budget, followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, according to the '2016 Jane's Defence Budgets Report', released by research firm IHS Markit.
Both the separatists in the Valley and the Indian establishment have failed to fathom that the world's alignments have changed, writes Col Dr Anil Athale (retired).
''The avoidance of the 'P' word had less to do with reality and more to do with the politics -- domestic and international -- of Mr Modi and his efforts to both appear statesman-like (vis-a-vis Pakistan) and rid himself of the taint of being some kind of Muslim-baiting hardliner.'
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